


to feel alive

by eightbitbat



Category: Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-10
Updated: 2019-05-10
Packaged: 2020-02-29 17:40:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18783001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eightbitbat/pseuds/eightbitbat
Summary: After a tragedy, Peri and the Doctor find a moment of connection.





	to feel alive

Not all trips with the Doctor ended well.

Peri wasn’t sure anything could have gone worse on this trip, though they did make it out of that base alive.  It was more than could be said for the rest of those poor souls.

She wanted to go take a long, hot bath, wrap herself in something soft, and then cry herself to sleep.  Peri was about to tell the Doctor she was off for a bath, but the sight of him troubled her. The Doctor had been silent since they’d gotten back to the TARDIS.  He hunched over the console as he flicked the switches idly. His normally serene face looked drawn and tired. He had tried hard, so very hard, to prevent the disaster they had just escaped, but there was only so much one man could do.  Even if he was a Time Lord.

Peri crossed the room to him and placed a hand on his arm.  He shook his head slightly and looked up at her, face slack.  He carried so much of this pain; it absolutely broke her heart.  She rubbed her hand over his back, and he scrubbed his hands over his face and sighed.  He straightened and gently pulled her to him, and she buried herself in his chest gratefully.  

The Doctor wrapped his arms around her and tucked her head under his chin, and for a long moment they stood, sharing their grief.  She pressed her face a little harder into his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist, and his arms tightened around her. It was soothing, the solid feel of him under her cheek, the double thump of his hearts in her ear.  She twisted her head to look up at him. He looked down at her, and the sorrow in his eyes made her stretch up and gently press her lips to his.

Peri hadn’t really meant anything by it, it was just a small gesture of comfort.  What she didn’t expect was the Doctor’s response. He didn’t pull away, nor did he seize her in a passionate embrace.  He continued to hold her, and the pressure on her lips was gentle, comfortable, accepting. They stood like that for long minutes, leaning into one another, leisurely discovering each other’s responses.  

She broke off and looked at him.  They still spoke no words to one another, but Peri knew what she needed, and she rather thought the Doctor did, too.  She had heard of this happening to people, people who had just been in life-or-death situations, a way to celebrate the fact that you were alive.  Traveling with the Doctor was always a sort of life-or-death situation, but today it had struck a little closer to home than what had become her normal.

Peri took his hand and silently led him out of the console room.  He said nothing as he followed her through the TARDIS corridors to her room.  Once inside, she pulled him close to her and kissed him again, and as she did, she slowly and carefully started to remove his clothing.  He froze a couple of times, and she stopped, but he would urge her on with the look in his eyes or the touch of his lips. He had undone the buttons on her blouse, and pushed it off her shoulders, but hadn’t gone any further than that.  Peri pulled it off the rest of the way, then twisted an arm behind her back and undid the clasp of her bra. The Doctor gave a sharp intake of breath against her lips as his hand found its way to her breast.

They managed to work the rest of their clothes off without breaking too much contact, and once they had, Peri pulled him down onto her bed.  She enjoyed the feeling of him next to her, long and lithe and a bit awkward. She could feel him, hard against her thigh, and reached a hand down to stroke him.  His body tensed at the contact, but he didn’t stop her, and after a few moments one of his hands travelled down her body as well. She bit her lip as his long fingers explored and stroked.  She needed more.

Peri pushed the Doctor gently onto his back and sat up and positioned herself on top of him.  She looked down at him, at his sweet, sad expression, hair somewhat disheveled from her running her hands through it, lips slightly swollen from their kisses.  He put his hands on her hips and helped her position herself, and she used a hand to guide him inside. As she lowered herself onto him, he closed his eyes and gave a low moan.  She started to move, slowly, and he used his hands on her hips to encourage her. After a bit, he levered himself up, careful not to break their contact, so he could kiss her again.  His hands roamed over her body as she moved on top of him, and his fingers found his way back down, making her gasp at the added sensation.

The Doctor looked at her intently as his fingers stroked her, until finally she broke.  She wanted to throw her head back and cry out, to shout his name, but this wasn’t the time for that.  Peri pressed her forehead to his and let it out with gasps and sighs and quiet groans. The Doctor flipped them over, and she rode out the end of her climax on her back.  He lasted a few more quick thrusts and then she felt him let go, too. He grunted quietly before collapsing down on top of her.

She held him like that, head pillowed on her chest, stroking his silky hair.  This, this was what she needed. The affirmation of life in the face of all of that death.  Peri hoped that it was what the Doctor had needed, too. His deep, even breaths told her he had fallen asleep on top of her.  She smirked at the thought that Time Lords weren’t so different from human men after all. She kissed the top of his head and tried to make herself comfortable for sleep, too.

* * *

When she woke, he was standing beside her bed.  In the dim light she could see that he was pulling on his jacket.  He looked down at her, and seeing that she was awake, reached down to caress her cheek.  Then he was gone.

Peri knew that this wouldn’t be something that ever happened again.


End file.
